Benedict XVI and John Paul “are strikers,” says Italian soccer coach

Nov 28, 2007 / 13:28 pm

Commenting on the loss of values in the world of sports today, the coach of Italy’s soccer team, Roberto Donadoni, said Benedict XVI and John Paul II “are inspirations” in how to live and act”. If they were soccer players, Donadoni said, “I would definitely put them in the middle of the field towards the front,” as in the moral climate of today’s world “we not only need defenders but strikers as well.”

In a recent interview on Vatican Radio, when asked about what positions he would give the pontiffs if they were soccer players on his team, Donadoni said, “In these times we not only need defenders but strikers as well, like those who clearly propose and give something.  So, I would definitely put them in the middle of the field towards the front.”

Asked if the popes are “inspiring to the game,” the Italian soccer coach replied, “I would say they are, since they inspirations in how to live and act.”  In response to questions about the recent violence at soccer games in Italy, which has left one person dead and scores injured, Donadoni said television and the press have “a great task” in helping to stop it.  “If they can operate in a constructive and positive way, they can make an enormous contribution.  In my opinion, this does not often happen.”

Donadoni encouraged young people hoping to get in to soccer to “use their heads and not be fooled by bad advice or by groups that do not care about the common good, but only about themselves.”